Certified Associate in Project Management is a great certification for people aspiring to grow in the project management sector. This certificate is provided by the esteemed Project Management Institute based in the USA. There are many things to know about the institution/establishment providing it before knowing about CAPM. The establishment is completely non-profitable and aims at providing globally acclaimed project management certification to people possessing the necessary skills and talent. The institution has many chapters worldwide, with Asia being its larger market.
Singapore is the hub of PMI chapters. These chapters are very helpful and effective in sharing knowledge with interested people through interlinked/networked sessions over the internet. It also helps people prepare well for the certification examination. The aspirants can also get mentors in these chapters who can help them sail smoothly through the project management ocean. CAPM is a global certification, and any person aspiring to be a successful project manager can start their journey from here. This certification aims at providing all the knowledge which any fresh project manager should have at the dispense of their organization. The knowledge areas CAPM deals with are purely fundamental for project management. The certificate is accepted and attested professionally. It has great value in organizations looking for able project managers worldwide.
Summing up CAPM:
CAPM is both conceptual and essential to start a project management career. It is an industry-neutral course of study. This basically means that the individual possessing this certification can work in any industry of their choice. It could be manufacturing, defense, retail, customer engagement, marketing, IT, or any other field they dreamt about. The versatility the certification provides is another key reason why people want to pursue this certification. The candidate needs to pass the CAPM examination conducted and supervised by PMI. A certificate is valid for five years and can be renewed after three years. It is due to regular changes in the project management market that makes this certificate a never-ending process of learning.
Understanding Professional Development Unit:
PDU is a very important part of the CAPM certification. The experience in project management is measured through this unit by PMI. It is acquired through various processes that improve the candidate’s grip over project management. For instance, if any candidate attends a project management class conducted by any Project Management Professional for an hour, they gain 1 PDU. If they submit a white paper document on Project management, they receive 5 PDUs. There are many such ways to earn desired PDUs. It can be looked upon the CCR handbook present on the official website of PMI.
Looking out for the CAPM examination:
The CAPM examination has a very interesting pattern of questions. The question paper has 150 questions, and all of them are equally important. This is because 15 questions out of these will not be scored. The questions which don’t have any marks are not distinguished, and so, it is important that every candidate attends all the questions with the same seriousness. To be exact, the candidate has to prove their expertise in the following ten knowledge areas:
Project HR management (8%)
Project scope Management (11%)
Project Integration Management (12%)
Project time management (12%)
Project management processes (15%)
Project risk management (9%)
Project stakeholder management (7%)
Project communication management (6%)
Project procurement management (7%)
Project quality management (6%)
The exam has a run-time of three hours.
Breaking down the process groups:
The examination tests the candidate on the basis of knowledge in five process groups. Process groups are basically the processes a project goes through. It starts at the initiation of the project and ends at project closing. These five process groups are as follows:
Initiation: The starting of the project where the objectives, prerequisites, and required deliverables are agreed upon by the stakeholders and project managers understand what the client actually wants.
Planning: This process forms a detailed layout of how the project will be worked or proceeded upon.
Execution: This is the stage after all the planning is penned down or stored. The work on the project begins according to the planning done previously.
Monitoring and controlling: Controlling the processes and devising the outcomes of each project is the objective of this process.
Closing: The project difference and other things are marked. This includes the difference in the initial deliverables plan and final deliverable achieved. There are many other things like documentation, which legally ends in the hands of the clients and higher authorities of the company.
Endnote:
Being a CAPM certification holder is not easy. The person needs to stay focused, alert, and also keen to learn new things. The candidate should be prepared with knowledge of the five process groups, ten knowledge areas, and 42 project management processes. The certification has a lot of toil on the aspirants, but it pays off really well in the future.
